Carb Cycling - Help needed

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bobbiedr
bobbiedr Posts: 260 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello,

I just finished reading Chris Powell's "Choose More, Lose More" book. I am contemplating his classic carb cycling program, but I had a few questions.

How many carbs constitute low/high?

Also, I already knew about having to eat every 3 hours, but the problem is that I am a teacher, and so I don't have set breaks to eat. My breaks throughout the day are scattered, and so I can't eat every 3 hours. How would that work for me? My lunch is at noon, and so after that I would be able to eat a snack after the students leave at 3pm, but in the mornings my breaks are any where from at 9am to 11am. It's not the same every day, and I can't eat when I have my students.

Is there anyone else out the carb cycling? I would like to know tips, tricks, and anything you could tell me.

Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • psymongreen
    psymongreen Posts: 9 Member
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    I just started today but also wasn't sure what to keep the carbs under on a low day so will keep an eye out for replies here. Good luck on the plan!
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    I agree with StealthHealth. Any diet book/program should explicitly state its requirements. Or, at the very least, clearly explain exactly how the individual reader should determine his/her numbers.

    Considering both carb cycling and eating every three hours are completely unnecessary for weight management*, I'm not seeing the appeal of this program.

    * Personal choices/preferences aside, of course.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    ^^he makes a good point

    I also think it's not actually that great a programme, unless you enjoy eating like that or are working up to a pro bodybuilding competition of course?

  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
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    My suggestion is that if you're concerned about the diet plan the book gives you and it doesn't seem like something you will be ok with, it's not for you. What works for one person isn't going to work for everything. That system might have worked well for the author (though, the cynical part of me says it's just a bid to make money), but that doesn't mean it will work for you. And that's fine, we're all different.

    Best way to tell if an eating plan will work for you is to ask yourself "Will I be comfortable eating this way the rest of my life?" If the answer is no, look for something else. You need to remember that in order to KEEP the weight off, you're going to have to change your eating habits permanently. Otherwise, if you get to your goal and then go back to old eating habits, you'll probably gain the weight back. While looking for a good eating plan for yourself, it's fine to try new things, but if you give it a couple weeks and don't feel like it's an eating plan you're willing to keep, it's perfectly ok to try something else. Just make sure what you try will provide what you need nutritionally so you're not losing weight in an unhealthy way.
  • Tara4boys
    Tara4boys Posts: 515 Member
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    I have read the book and agree it is VERY vague. I don't like the constantly eating thing bc that means I'm constantly hungry. If you are wanting to lower your carbs, lower them and replace with fat. It will keep you full longer. I do LCHF but you don't have to go to that extreme - just ease your ratios a little at a time and see how you feel.
  • rhtexasgal
    rhtexasgal Posts: 572 Member
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    I found my way on Heidi Powell's website when I looked up carb cycling for myself. She had a chart she referenced based on the average intake of men and women for both high and low carb days. However, they were illustrations rather than x number of grams, etc. I deal with cold hard facts not illustrations. I found another website (and I cannot find it again) where I plugged in my stats and goals and it told me how many grams of carbs, fats and proteins I should consume during carb cycling. I determined after examining my food diary that I don't over-consume carbs on any given day, even on those days with pasta or donuts. So I figured it was not the right eating plan for me.
  • RebeccaNaegle
    RebeccaNaegle Posts: 236 Member
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    you should read thinner leaner stronger by mike Matthews, his books are amazing and really break it down!!!
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
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    I'm not familiar with that particular book, but I usually aim for 30g on low carb days and 100g on high-carb days. Carb cycling and meal frequency are separate items, you can do carb cycling without having to eat every 3 hours.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    But 100g is low carb?

    Ok am perplexed
  • Chrisjuvers
    Chrisjuvers Posts: 2,692 Member
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    tcunbeliever wrote: »
    I'm not familiar with that particular book, but I usually aim for 30g on low carb days and 100g on high-carb days. Carb cycling and meal frequency are separate items, you can do carb cycling without having to eat every 3 hours.

    yes, this
  • RebeccaNaegle
    RebeccaNaegle Posts: 236 Member
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    I would say low/no carbs would be 30g or less per day. I don't really think 100g is low carb personally, but I only eat 90 a day right now and I don't feel like I am on low carb.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    RebeccaNaegle wrote: »
    I would say low/no carbs would be 30g or less per day. I don't really think 100g is low carb personally, but I only eat 90 a day right now and I don't feel like I am on low carb.

    Low carb is traditionally sub 150g
  • sbl1881
    sbl1881 Posts: 213 Member
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    I'm doing it for the first time. I've got a blog with my daily stats going as well. Add me as a friend if you'd like and check out the blog on here. 31 Days of Carb Cycling - My Journey

    Good luck!
  • jdwils14
    jdwils14 Posts: 154 Member
    edited August 2016
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    dubird wrote: »
    You need to remember that in order to KEEP the weight off, you're going to have to change your eating habits permanently. Otherwise, if you get to your goal and then go back to old eating habits, you'll probably gain the weight back.

    I think this statement gets overused, and I don't subscribe to it. This is a mindset thing, not a food thing. The food does not control our hand-to-mouth motion; we do. If someone gains the weight back, it is because of life situations, lack of education, lack of self-control, or ignorance. Subscribing to the notion that one gains the weight back if the change isn't permanent is a copout that says we have no control over the situation. If I eat a certain way, it will not be forever...I like change too much. But our knowledge and health situations should propel us through to keep the weight off, and what it comes down to is mind over food.

    People say this just because statistics allow them to. However, it is not a statistic that really matters if one is in control of themselves. That, essentially, is all weight loss is: self control. The ways we eat can change how much self control we have, but so can meditation, kung fu, religion, family, and friends. Diets are not the end-all-be-all of weight control, and to say that one will "probably gain the weight back" is to assume no change in mindset. The statistics just show that people don't want to change too much.

    I am probably going back to ketogenic diet, and maybe try out IF (since it comes naturally on keto). I will not eat this way forever, sure, but I know it has no bearing on whether or not I will keep the weight off. It is simply a tool I will be using to get where I want to be. I have lost and gained 20 lbs over the last three years, netting a delta-zero. It was just because I lost focus, didn't care, or was lazy. But I am more fit than I have ever been in my life, so it is not without completely awesome gains in health and fitness.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
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    jdwils14 wrote: »
    dubird wrote: »
    You need to remember that in order to KEEP the weight off, you're going to have to change your eating habits permanently. Otherwise, if you get to your goal and then go back to old eating habits, you'll probably gain the weight back.

    I think this statement gets overused, and I don't subscribe to it. This is a mindset thing, not a food thing. The food does not control our hand-to-mouth motion; we do. If someone gains the weight back, it is because of life situations, lack of education, lack of self-control, or ignorance. Subscribing to the notion that one gains the weight back if the change isn't permanent is a copout that says we have no control over the situation. If I eat a certain way, it will not be forever...I like change too much. But our knowledge and health situations should propel us through to keep the weight off, and what it comes down to is mind over food.

    People say this just because statistics allow them to. However, it is not a statistic that really matters if one is in control of themselves. That, essentially, is all weight loss is: self control. The ways we eat can change how much self control we have, but so can meditation, kung fu, religion, family, and friends. Diets are not the end-all-be-all of weight control, and to say that one will "probably gain the weight back" is to assume no change in mindset. The statistics just show that people don't want to change too much.

    I am probably going back to ketogenic diet, and maybe try out IF (since it comes naturally on keto). I will not eat this way forever, sure, but I know it has no bearing on whether or not I will keep the weight off. It is simply a tool I will be using to get where I want to be. I have lost and gained 20 lbs over the last three years, netting a delta-zero. It was just because I lost focus, didn't care, or was lazy. But I am more fit than I have ever been in my life, so it is not without completely awesome gains in health and fitness.

    ^^agree. I'm also wary of the "only make a change you can sustain for the rest of your life" type statements.

    Some of the most successful body composition manipulators are body builders - they regularly add mass (muscle and fat) and then diet it away. I've never heard any for them reciting the "for rest of your life" mantra w.r.t. diet.

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